In everything

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything with prayer and supplication; with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

I remember a pastor challenging us with this verse once. He said that we are not only to give thanks for the good things but everything. I think that it's a fact that we pray more during hard times or times of confusion and frustration and we give thanks more in the good and happy times. I didn't do an official survey except with myself but I'm pretty sure you all do this too! But we are supposed to pray about AND give thanks for everything. God has a way of changing our perspective for us when we do.

Here are a few things that I was challenged with as I read this and I'll challenge you with also:
1) Don't be anxious--give whatever you are worried about to God. He already knows everything and He has a plan. (Jeremiah 29:11-13) Usually whatever we are anxious about we can't do anything to fix so we should give it to Him and rest in the fact that He has power to handle anything we give to Him.

2) Even if you aren't fully convinced, say 'thank you'. Maybe you don't know yet why you should be thankful but later you will and it's better to be thankful now and see a reward later than to be frustrated now and regret it later.
In The book "The Hiding Place" by Corrie Ten Boom she talks about when she and her sister Nellie were moved to a concentration camp and there were lice in their straw beds(on top of all the other horrible atrocities present in the camp). Nellie told her to thank God for their new location and even for the lice. She was aghast, 'why ever would someone be thankful for lice?!' She did and not long after that they realized that the guards didn't come into their room because of the lice. This meant that they could hold Bible studies with the other ladies. After that she could more genuinely thank God for the lice.

3) The peace of God surpasses all understanding. In Paul's opinion, it's better to trust Him than to have understanding. Ok so I haven't conquered this yet. It's probably the hardest thing for me to fully accept from God. I want to see what is going on, I like details especially when I am involved. I want to know now that everything turns out beautifully, that my hard days aren't going to keep on happening and that there will be a happy resolution to them.
But why would I trust anyone else?
 Cue the song "Dios Ha Sido Fiel" by Marcos Witt, (really, it just played), it's a beautiful song about how in the midst of great pain and dark nights God has been faithful and He will always be faithful. We can trust our lives to The One who is good.
And I can believe this when I'm feeling super homesick, when I'm feeling totally unqualified for what I've been given, when dealing with loss or on days when I wonder if my ministry will bear fruit. Or really for any difficulty that I face. Because it's not hard to believe or trust when everything goes according to plan. But when it doesn't, I have to remind myself of the great truth that the God of the universe knows me. He knows my needs and He is either working details out or working me out. Or maybe both.

Quarta-feira: Escola Ingles

This is Bertino.
Today he taught a very riveting English class. It was nice to have someone else teach and also a little bit entertaining. Seven of eight boys from the dorm were there(ages 13-16) and Bertino who is one of the children's pastors and 23 years old.
He knows a decent amount of English and is always excited to use it. He kept challenging the boys: "memoration"--he wanted them to memorize the vocabulary words. And said tomorrow was "revision"--meaning we will review tomorrow. We started with days of the week and then switched to parts of the body. Midway through his lesson he said "I have two songs." He proceeded to sing "ten fingers, ten toes, two ears and one nose" and then some song which we don't really know what it was... But it didn't include any English words that I know. We finished with learning some fruits and vegetables and he said he loved to eat rice and a little bit of potatoes and to drink fanta. It sounds simple but that's actually an uncommon meal for them. They usually eat shemah(warm cornmeal mush) and beans and mostly they don't eat more than two meals a day.

For obvious reasons, English class is one of our favorite things!

September ten

Manduin is the snack of choice here, by us and the Mozambicans. It seems every time I am at an event someone hands me a small handful of freshly shelled nuts. Ashlynn and I joined Jose, Armando, Paulo and Dominica to shell and visit. It's fun to sit with them, listen to them talk in Macua and try to figure out what they are saying. They are very welcoming and always smiling and laughing.

A little later we ventured outside the gates of the missions compound we took a left and walked towards Balbina's home. We passed some children, greeting them with a "bom dia" or "salama." I always have to stop and shake the hands of every willing child; a high-five also suffices. I hope that I never get so caught up in things to fail to do so. There is something very special in touching their hands. I want to be their friend. They just melt my heart. And I admit, I feel famous and it's sweet to be known by all the kids. I believe that it is through our love that many see the love of Jesus and I hope I do Him justice.
We walked into a gate to several bright blue buildings and four little voices calling "Keitee", "Ashtonee". They were sitting in the shade on the edge of the building holding some used 'Shake it Up" tennis shoes with glitter shoelaces trying to figure out how to put the laces in. We sat and talked but mostly we just smiled and played clapping games.

Then we went to Ernestina's house. I've been dying to go visit ever since she got a baby last week. I had malaria though and was confined home to rest and recover. Baby Daniel is adorable. He is a sweet baby. I held him last week when his uncle and cousin brought him to us since his aunt couldn't care for him anymore. The moment he was placed in my arms and he didn't cry I knew he loved me. When I saw Esperança and Pedrito yesterday I asked about their new baby brother and they said he was a good eater--he is on his third can of formula and it hasn't been quite a week.